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The Republican contact sent Gallego a photo of Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro with a mocking caption: “If erectile dysfunction had a face.” Gallego didn’t push back or defend the 82-year-old lawmaker. Instead, he fired back, “They aren’t wrong!”
He then added a blunt, stinging assessment of his party’s image: “We look like the not fun party. Always telling and correcting people.”
The fallout forced Gallego to address the leak during an interview with ABC15’s Ben Brown. Despite the explicit nature of the messages, the Democrat did not offer an apology or walk back his remarks. Instead, he blamed the betrayal on the person who exposed the conversation.
“It’s very heartbreaking that someone that I served with and have known and been really good friends with for 20 years decided to … leak some of these messages,” Gallego said.
But the senator insisted the comments aligned with opinions he has already expressed publicly. “I’ve been very clear about where I think the party needs to be, I think we have to be an open and bigger tent party, and so this is just a reflection of everything I’ve said,” he explained.
Gallego has a history of criticizing his party’s strategies, especially after President Donald Trump’s victory. During a CNN interview last November, he bluntly admitted Democrats refused to take economic suffering seriously.
“Look, I think really the economy is what resonated with people,” Gallego said. He argued that Democrats were spending money “but not necessarily helping people.”
Host Jake Tapper pressed him: “Spending money like in Ukraine, you mean?”
“Yes, exactly,” Gallego responded, admitting that Democratic priorities had become disconnected from the everyday struggles of working Americans. He spoke about Latino voters in particular, explaining their frustration with rising costs and stagnant wages. “I just don’t feel like I’m doing anything to provide for my family. I don’t feel like I’m bringing them security,” he said many Latino men were telling him.
Gallego’s leaked texts now put him in the center of a different kind of political storm — one his own party may not forgive. His private frustration mirrors a growing internal panic among Democrats who fear their identity politics-driven brand is alienating the very voters they claim to champion.
Whether the senator survives this scandal or becomes the newest target of his party’s speech police remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: when a Democrat openly mocks Democrats for looking like the “not fun party,” it’s not Republicans creating the narrative. It’s Democrats themselves.
